Work Text:
Jim’s eyes hurt.
His head hurt too actually.
Heck if he had to be honest with himself everything hurt so badly he only wanted to take a hypo into the neck (he knew Bones’ would gladly, perhaps even gleefully administer it) and go to sleep.
The classroom was empty when he got there so having one of his great ideas he lied down across the hard wooden bench in the back. His sunglasses protected him from the blazing lights that were turned on and only managed to worsen his headache.
His one day off from classes and exams and he was spending it here as per request of Admiral Pike. The man didn’t even tell him what he wanted just told him to get his ass here at seven o’clock and Kirk wasn’t one to argue with authority.
Yea, right.
If anyone in StarFleet knew anything about James Tiberius Kirk it was that he loved to argue. Loved, loved it.
Bones likes to say if you woke Jim in the middle of the night he would argue about being woken up.
He knew he had problems with authority but he guessed he did owe the old man a favour or two. Pike did take him in after Frank had kicked him out after the whole car over the cliff thing that happened. Another great idea he had, but damn was it fun to look at Frank's face when he saw his car at the bottom. Like he was wishing Jim was down there with it.
(Her, Frank called her Joan if he remembered correctly.)
Pike was the father he never had, all down to nagging him about his grades and reminding him to eat his vegetables.
He also managed to convince him to join StarFleet’s summer program. Pike's argument was why waste time in the summer doing fun things when he can study and exercise with the Fleet's future best and brightest.
Meeting Bones gave him another father slash pseudo older brother that hovered above him with a hypo ready and waiting. Bones almost murdered him that one time when they went out to eat and Jim had an allergic reaction to some alien spice in their meal and almost died at the table. Since then Bones has a spreadsheet of all his allergies marked in a rainbow of colour.
Jim should know, every month he is forced into a meeting with Bones to go over all his allergies.
He put his head back down on the bench and tried to do some deep breathing exercises to calm his headache. His PADD was vibrating from messages from Bones asking him if he was gonna come to the bar.
Jim promised to be his wingman tonight.
Voices appeared in the distance and soon the door to the auditorium was opened. Jim didn’t even bother sitting up and looking who was disturbing his peace and quiet. Grunts and groans echoed around the room, Jim prayed it wasn’t a couple trying to fuck in an empty classroom.
‘’Just put it right here please.’’
‘’Yes Zir.’’
There was a sound of something heavy being placed down.
The first voice was male, calm and cool in its nature. Almost felt controlled in a way.
The second voice was younger, eager and peppy with an accent. Russian perhaps?
‘’Will that be all Professor Spock?’’
Third voice, also male.
Jim took a guess it was another student. Jim racked his brain for a professor named Spock but none were coming to mind. There was a chance he didn’t teach Command but still he should at least know the name.
‘’Why did you agree to this?’’
The fourth voice was female and very sharp. Oh he knew that voice.
‘’Cadet Uhura, Admiral Pike challenged me and I must accept the challenge. To not accept would be illogical.’’
Uhura, first name unknown, was the sexy little thing he met in a bar just before his first official year. She’s just wound tight all the time he just can’t resist poking at her. The day she doesn’t react will be the day he stops.
Probably.
Did the guy just said it would be illogical? He suddenly remembered who he was. One of Bones’s favourite things to bitch about when he was drunk was the hobgoblin he was forced to interact with during his class. The man was a PA for a class Bones’s was forced to attend and he hated him with a burning passion greater than anything (Len was known for being dramatic when pissed). Spock was Vulcan and a perpetual nag who wanted nothing but perfection from his students or so Bones said.
‘’Please call me Nyota.’’
Jim could almost feel the moving of her eyelashes. Well, well now he knows her name. This day went from bad to good in only a couple of minutes
The door opened again and Pike walked in. He guessed it was Pike by the sudden lull in the conversation.
‘’Spock.’’
‘’Commander.’’
‘’Uhura, Sulu, Chekov.’’
‘’Sir.’’
‘’Admiral.’’
‘’Zir.’’
‘’So are we all set here?’
Jim could picture Pike smiling at them with a easy smile leaning on his cane.
‘’Yes, the board is set.’’
Board? What kind of board Jim though as he shifted around trying to peer under the gap where the tabe met the panel for the seats lower. No luck, he could only see old gum generations of students stuck under there.
‘’If I might ask Admiral who is this person you would like me to play?’’
‘’A friend I asked for a small favour.’’
Favour his ass.
‘’I know you’re here Jim.’’
Pike’s voice bounced off the walls around the room. Jim slammed his head on the underside of the bench in reaction.
‘’There is no use in hiding Jim.’’
Yea now when you all heard the inside of my head scramble.
Jim swore the man had a six sense for Jim when ever they were in a hundred foot radius from one another. With a groan he sat up and looked down, down at the smug looking Pike and the four people in the room. The students clad in the red uniform were the easiest to locate. One looked too young with blond eyes and brown curls and the other was a asian man with a somber face.
The Vulcan, Spock, was hot Jim wouldn’t mind seeing if that green blush spread down under that carefully starched collar.
Jim had been aware of his physical attractiveness from an early age and never hesitate in using it as one of weapons in his arsenal. His appearance, blond and blue eyes, often made people underestimate him which suited him just fine. There was nothing better than being underestimated and then sticking it back in their faces.
He took of his glasses and his leather jacket and threw them into a random seat and started down the stairs.
He met Pike’s gaze as he stood in front of him.
‘’Admiral Pike.’’
‘’Kirk. You must be wondering why I called you here today?’’
So you can look good?
‘’Yes, Sir.’’
‘’I want you to beat Professor Spock here in chess.’’
Kirk glanced at the pointed hand and then at the chess table set next to the podium. It was an old wooden thing made from a dark wood that showed its age. It looked heavy just by looking at it. The figures were polished marble, black and white positioned on against each other as usual.
‘’Is that an order Sir?’’
‘’Yes Cadet.’’
Jim rubbed at his temple and took a glance through his fingers at the other occupants of the room who were all staring at him with confusion in their eyes.
‘’Sure I’ll give it a try.’’
Jim sat down while everyone was still looking at him.
‘’You can’t.’’
The young Russian boy said looking almost panicked. The other man, Sulu Jim’s brain offered, put a hand on his shoulder quieting him down.
‘’What Chekov means is that Spock has played almost all the professors and the Admirals and no one has been even close to beating him. I don’t know why Spike is asking you to play?’’
She might as well called him an imbecile right to his face. He directed his gaze to her and smiled his shit eating grin that he knew pissed people off in these types of situations. He could almost hear her grinding her teeth.
‘’I might as well try, since it was an order.’’
He turned to Spock who was gazing at him in that calm manner all Vulcans possessed.
‘’What do you say Professor Spock? Fancy a game?’’
Spock stared at him for a moment longer and then nodded slightly.
‘’That seems acceptable. Take white please.’’
‘’Sure’’
Jim settled down into the chair and stretched his arms above his head cracking his spine. Those benches weren’t exactly therapeutic.
‘’Let’s give it a go.’’
Jim liked chess just fine. Usually it was too much of a hassle to find someone to play him, Pike was always a good sport and so was Bones but both of them got kinda pissy after he creamed them the third or fourth time. When he was a kid and his mom was home, she took him to a library once where he had a chance to play a computer. It wasn’t his fault the computer fried it’s circuit board when it lost.
Spock as an opponent wasn’t easy. For the first time in a long while he was actually forced to think it though a little bit, although not too much. Spock played like Jim imagined all Vulcans would play. Pike hovered over his shoulders while Uhura did the same over Spock looking like a proud wife. It took him fifteen minutes to get him where he wanted him.
‘’Checkmate in three moves.’’
Spock's eyebrows climbed even higher than they were at the start of the game.
He said nothing at Jim’s words and returned to staring at the board. Two moves later the white bishop checkmated the black queen.
The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Pike clapped him on the shoulder and Jim gave him a small smile. His opponent was still looking at the board.
‘’Quite....unusual...’’
Jim stood up when Spock didn’t give any hint he would first. Just in the last moment he remembered Vulcans don’t shake hands and managed to rake the half raised hand through his hair. He met Uhura’s eyes who looked like a bug with her eyes opened so wide. Chekov started clapping and so did Sulu so Jim did a little mock bow and went to grab his jacket and sunglasses. His PADD was shockingly quiet so he fired off a text to Bones he would be right there to help him get laid.
He returned to shake Pike’s hand who looked like he had tears in his eyes.
‘’Sir...are you crying??’’
‘’Of course I’m crying kid. You just won me a thousand credits from the other Admirals with this.’’
A laugh burst out of him and he had to remind himself he was with company.
‘’Glad I could be a help Sir.’’
He shooks Sulu’s’ and Chekov’s hand and nodded to Uhura who was glaring at him with her arms crossed over her chest.
He turned to Spock who stood next to Uhura looking at the floor with a confused look on his face. Jim did his best Vulcan salute and said his final goodbye with
’’Dif tor heh smusma.’’
He left the classroom feeling much better with no headache.